Mom's Minute

 

Introduction to Bruce Willis - Survive the Night Movie

I was pleasantly surprised to discover a recent (2020) Bruce Willis movie on Amazon Prime Video. I was curious about the role that renowned action movie star Bruce Willis would play in the Survive the Night movie. Was I surprised at the role he played in this movie? Check out my rmovie review to find out this and more. By the way, Survive the Night Movie is rated R and should not be watched by anyone younger than 17 years of age.

 

Plot of Bruce Willis - Survive the Night Movie

 

Survive the Night is a movie with a familiar plot which centers around a home invasion to include actions by the villains and the victims. Like me, you’ve probably seen similar type films before.  I’m always curious as to what transpired before the home invasion actually took place; and even more importantly, what happens to the victims as well as the criminals.

 Regarding the plot and to make a long story short -- Bruce Willis Survive the Night movie is essentially about two criminals who had nothing better to do than to commit numerous senseless crimes, until one of those crimes led one of them to seek treatment for a serious injury from a doctor  -- who of course was put under great duress regarding his and his family’s safety -- since they broke into the home.  The doctor (Rich Clark) was played by Chad Michael Murray while Bruce Willis played his father in the movie - Frank Clark.  

Drama in Bruce Willis Survive the Night Movie

 

For the most part, the drama involved the doctor, who had been sued for malpractice as well as the father (Bruce Willis) constantly undermining him because of this.  Spoiler Alert: Of course during the tense moments of the movie, there were conversations between the son and the father, where the father refuted the negative things he had said previoudly about the son.

 

 

Bruce Willis’ Role in Survive the Night Movie

 

You find out that Bruce Willis’ character has retired based on pictures around the home. In my opinion, Bruce Willis played the part of a retired sheriff  to a “T” including probably having  a favorite rocking chair until the home invasion took place.

 

During the home invasion, I waited for Bruce WIllis to take the lead as well as control of the crisis situation, similar to how he acted in his “Die Hard” movies. Spoiler Alert:  Unfortunately, this did not come to pass.  The most action Bruce WIllis got out of this movie was driving a muscle car to detract one of the home invaders.  By the way, there was no fire involved in the movie, even though you may see advertising scenes with a muscle car and flames behind it.

Holes in the Plot of Bruce Willis - Survive the Night Movie

 

 

Spoiler Alert:  Here are some of the holes in the plot where the victims could have overpowered or escaped from the villains numerous times.

 

1. 1.  The criminals were  outnumbered by people in the house -- i.e. two criminals (1 physically incapacitated) vs. initially 5 other people in the house. The interesting point about this movie was that there were two families living there; however, it seemed to be an arduous task for them to overcome two criminals -- one of whom was injured.

2.  2. Instead of the wife and child hiding in an outside shed, they could have fled to get help -- even though they seemed to live far from the main highway. By trying to walk into town, they would have been safer than staying in a shed where they were sure to be found.

3. 3. During the barn-shed fight scene, the main actor successfully knocked the villain out, but did not take the weapon that was laying down beside him.  Of course when the villain came to, he grabbed his weapon and the pursuit started again.

4. 4. The main character did not use his bargaining position well.  All he had to do was to make a deal with the criminal to let the families go -- and he would perform the necessary actions to save the other criminal. This did not happen during the movie.

5.  5. During the car chase -- Bruce Willis’ character could have drove into town for help -- instead of doubling back to the scene of the crime to continue being a victim.

There are probably other holes in the movie; however, these are my top five. You may find more if you watch the movie, Survive the Night.

 

Actions Needed to Showcase Bruce Willis as an Action Star

 

Spoiler Alert:  There is a scene in the movie where Bruce WIllis' character is untying the wife of the doctor who has been ordered to operate on one of the villains. He untied her -- but instead of Bruce Willis' character taking control of the situation, the wife did so and commenced to go after the villains. Instead of having the wife take action, Bruce Willis' character could have taken more of an active role to protect his family.  Looks like the wife took away his thunder, leaving Bruce WIllis' character to seem more like a background character instead of the action star he is known for. 

 

 

Assessment of Bruce Willis Survive the Night Movie

 

Even with the holes in the storyline of the movie, I think this film may be worth watching.  If you are a Bruce WIllis fan, you may enjoy seeing him still active in the movie industry. 

 

That being said, I was disappointed that Bruce Willis did not carry out his legacy as an action star.

On the other hand, maybe he is choosing not to take on action roles in movies where he is the main character. Who knows? However, on a positive note, I was glad to see that he is continuing to act. 

 

What’s Next for Bruce Willis?

 

The good news is that Bruce Willis has an upcoming movie that I plan to check out called Breach. Hopefully in his next film, he will take more of a leading action hero type role. To put it simply, maybe in Breach, he will be in the driver’s seat of action instead of simply sitting in the back seat watching everyone else take the wheel -- like he did in the Survive the Night movie.

 

 

Rating of Bruce Willis - Survive the Night Movie

 

 

Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars with 5 stars being the highest, I rate Bruce Willis Survive the Night movie 3 stars.